The sport of hydroplane racing is a sport which can trace its roots to right here in the Puget Sound area, and now the Valley has a couple of drivers they can cheer for. And they happen to be two of the top young drivers in their sport.

The brother-sister duo of Brian and Kayleigh Perkins moved to North Bend a few months ago, and the two have fared well this season on the circuit, Brian driving the U-21 Miss Albert Lee Appliance boat on the H-1 circuit, and Kayleigh down in the unlimited lights piloting the UL-72 Foster Care boat.

For Kayleigh, the season has gone well. “We have been doing pretty good,” she said. They have raced several times this spring and summer, and the results have been strong, led by a win at the Columbia Cup over in the Tri-Cities July 25 despite engine problems which affected them the entire race. Brian has had a mixed result, with a fourth place finish at the opening race of the season in Madison, IN, followed by a third place finish at the August 8 Seafair race.

While the results have had their peaks and valleys, one thing that has not wavered is their mutual support of one another in their races. It’s for a good reason. “Both of us know how dangerous this sport can be,” Kayleigh said.

Both of them have been around the sport since they were born; their parents were volunteers at the Seafair course and that is how they first saw it in action.

Being a boat driver is a big responsibility. Not only do they drive, but they also have big roles in how their team functions. For example, Kayleigh works quite a bit on the boat in the team shop when they are not racing. She is passionate about that part of it. “If I don’t work on the boat I don’t feel like a part of the boat,” she said.

The future is potentially bright for both of these drivers, especially Kayleigh, who got to test drive an unlimited boat, the U-1 Oh Boy! Oberto at Seafair with an eye on possibly joining her brother on the H-1 circuit. It will, however, take some adjustment for Kayleigh. “Unlimited is a lot heavier than the lights,” she said, adding, “It’s a lot more taxing on the body.” To be eligible to drive an unlimited boat, a driver must be able to drive 15 laps consecutively, with a majority of them over 130 mph. At the Seafair test, she drove six laps, with four of them over the 130 mph threshold.

In the near term, however, the two of them have additional races – Kayleigh in Polson, MT, near the end of this month, and Brian across the globe in Qatar later this year.